Author: Rob McNelly

Edit: At the time of this writing we are talking about POWER10 Originally posted September 19, 2017 on AIXchange In March I wrote about the POWER9 roadmap. More recently, I sat in on a confidential briefing about the upcoming release. All I can really say about it is that some exciting things are coming, and I … Continue reading “POWER9: What’s Already Out There Says Plenty”

Edit: Some links no longer work Originally posted September 12, 2017 on AIXchange In our line of work, you never stop learning. But I also believe it’s important to refresh one’s memory by revisiting some basics from time to time. For instance, we should all know the OSI model, which is described here. How well do you … Continue reading “Some Familiar and Not So Familiar Uses of ifconfig”

Edit: We were all beginners once Originally posted September 5, 2017 on AIXchange Even though it was published in the earliest days of the internet, this 1996 article about helping people learn to use computers still rings true. Do you find yourself falling into any of these traps when you’re teaching users about your systems? This … Continue reading “Tech Changes, but Teaching Doesn’t”

Edit: It can still make for a good workout Originally posted August 30, 2017 on AIXchange As I’ve noted previously, IT pros aren’t the healthiest lot. But if you spend any time setting up new hardware in data centers, you’re at least getting a workout. This occurred to me while I was recently unboxing and racking customer … Continue reading “My Workout Day at the Data Center”

Edit: I am still using it with the IBM Champions Originally posted August 21, 2017 on AIXchange I recently started using Slack. It’s a group messaging tool that seems to be making inroads at IBM. There’s also a channel for IBM Champions, which is the one I joined. Despite my limited experience with Slack, I can … Continue reading “Is Anyone Interested in a Real-Time AIX Forum Using Slack?”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted August 15, 2017 on AIXchange Have you heard about the new Cloud Management Console (CMC)? It provides a new way of managing our environments from a single pane of glass. The data from your HMC flows to a central location, and you manage it there. If you have … Continue reading “Taking Your HMC to the Cloud”

Edit: When was the last time you used this? Originally posted August 8, 2017 on AIXchange I’d honestly forgotten about uuencode until recently, when I actually needed it: Uuencoding is a form of binary-to-text encoding that originated in the Unix programs uuencode and uudecode written by Mary Ann Horton at UC Berkeley in 1980, for encoding binary … Continue reading “Saved by uuencode (yes, uuencode)”

Edit: Some links no longer work Originally posted August 1, 2017 on AIXchange Are you bored with that same old x86 version of the HMC that you’ve used for years? Are you tired of the same old interface that you’ve long mastered? Are you ready for a change? Well ready or not, change is coming. … Continue reading “Big Changes are Coming to the HMC”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted July 25, 2017 on AIXchange I’ve previously mentioned my fondness for reading technical documentation. Another great resource along those tech doc lines is the AIX updates IBM provides. For instance, here’s what’s new for AIX 7.2, and here’s the update for AIX 7.1. Both of these pages provide links to … Continue reading “The Place to Go for AIX Updates”

Edit: Time keeps marching on Originally posted July 18, 2017 on AIXchange This blog came to life 10 years ago this week, on July 16, 2007. When I started writing AIXchange, my sons were 8 and 4. Now my oldest is a high school graduate and my youngest is a freshman. Time marches on. When … Continue reading “Much has Changed, but Not Everything”

Edit: Some links no longer work Originally posted July 11, 2017 on AIXchange Have you booted LPARs from your USB ports? It was much easier than I thought it would be. I had been a little worried after reading the intro to this article: Note from the editor: There is limited USB support in AIX and … Continue reading “Booting an LPAR from a USB Port”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted June 27, 2017 on AIXchange I want to highlight a few VIO commands, and point you to where you can find even more commands. For example, have you heard of the VIO rules command? PurposeManages and deploys device setting rules on the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS). Syntaxrules -o … Continue reading “Info on VIO Commands”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted June 20, 2017 on AIXchange Here’s an informative write-up about the native HTML report with PowerHA: IBM PowerHA 7.1.3 has a very nice feature; the native HTML report. We can get this report via clmgr command, and no external requirements is needed, simply having the software base installed. … Continue reading “PowerHA Now Includes HTML Reporting Capability”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted June 13, 2017 on AIXchange If you’re running Linux on Power, are you running these service and productivity tools? While Linux lacks the diagnostics and reporting capabilities that are built into AIX, these tools help bridge that gap. There are tools to help you with hardware inventory. There’s … Continue reading “Service and Productivity Tools for LoP Users”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted June 6, 2017 on AIXchange What sort of person actually enjoys reading through random IBM support documentation? A lot of us, I imagine. I know I do. I find reading docs in my spare time helps me when I’m actually dealing with a problem. I’ll remember reading … Continue reading “A Techie’s Guide to Recreational Reading”

Edit: I still love live demos that I can play with vs Youtube videos Originally posted May 30, 2017 on AIXchange Recently I was shown a link to the IBM Spectrum Protect Live Demo, and I thought I’d tell you about my experience with it. The statement on the landing page sums it up well: Anyone can … Continue reading “IBM Spectrum Protect Live Demo”

Edit: Still a powerful tool for your toolbox. Some links no longer work. Originally posted May 23, 2017 on AIXchange Although Capacity on Demand has been around for years, I still encounter customers who are unaware of this option. So here’s a primer/reminder: Certainly if you run enterprise servers, you should know about CoD. The idea … Continue reading “CoD Remains an Under-Utilized Option”

Edit: Still a useful technique, some links no longer work. Originally posted May 16, 2017 on AIXchange Shared Ethernet adapters have matured as a technology. A few years ago when SEAs were new and a little more esoteric, they were occasionally misconfigured, leading to network issues. Now that we have more experience with them, I don’t hear … Continue reading “How to Seize Information About Your SEAs”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted May 9, 2017 on AIXchange During the build out of a new POWER8 server, we were loading our VIO servers. We were using the classic HMC interface, and a user clicked on the profile after VIOS was running. He checked the hardware tab, and in that tab, … Continue reading “About Processor Modes”

Edit: The more things change.. Originally posted May 2, 2017 on AIXchange I like to check my Twitter analytics to get a feel for the kinds of topics that my followers find interesting. You can learn the number of impressions and engagements for each individual tweet, as well as your overall engagement rate. I don’t … Continue reading “There’s Still Something About the Good Old Days of Tech”

Edit: This is still the best way to load rpm packages. Some links no longer work. Originally posted April 25, 2017 on AIXchange When it comes to getting open source packages onto your AIX system, there are lots of options. And while package dependencies are always a problem, Michael Perzl’s solution is still sound. But now there’s another … Continue reading “Running YUM on AIX”

Edit: Some links no longer work Originally posted April 18, 2017 on AIXchange Sure, I enjoy reading about new systems. I’ve also done my share of writing about them. But for me, there’s nothing better than being able to actually visualize hardware. Of course speeds and feeds are helpful, but I want to see where the different cables … Continue reading “A Different Way to Look at Systems”

Edit: Some links no longer work Originally posted April 11, 2017 on AIXchange A friend who was in the midst of a migration project recently asked me what I knew about TCPTR. Short answer: not much. So I went searching and found this definition: Configures or displays TCP Traffic Regulation (TR) policy information to control the … Continue reading “The Danger of Defaults”

Edit: Some links no longer work Originally posted April 4, 2017 on AIXchange Earlier this year I pointed you to a method for finding relative performance (rPerf) numbers for your LPAR. Sometimes you may want to compare the rPerf of different IBM Power Systems, some of which you may not even have access to. If you’re replacing a … Continue reading “More rPerf Resources”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted March 28, 2017 on AIXchange What are the different high availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR) solutions are available for Power Systems? What are the pros and cons of these different solutions? This comparison document created by Carl Burnett, Joe Cropper, and Ravi Shankar helps answer these questions: … Continue reading “HA and DR Overview”

Edit: Now we are doing POWER10 roadmaps. Some links no longer work. Originally posted March 21, 2017 on AIXchange I want to point you to Jeff Stuecheli’s POWER9 presentation from January’s AIX Virtual User Group meeting. This information doesn’t involve specific announcements or new models, but it provides an informative look the capabilities of the … Continue reading “A POWER9 Roadmap”

Edit: Some links no longer work Originally posted March 14, 2017 on AIXchange IBM made an interesting announcement today. The Standard editions of AIX 7.1 and AIX 7.2 will soon be available to be licensed on a monthly basis under Passport Advantage. This is another example of Power Systems and AIX making their platforms cloud-ready … Continue reading “Selected AIX Versions Can Soon Be Licensed Monthly”

Edit: I always like to look for these documents. Some links no longer work. Originally posted March 7, 2017 on AIXchange As I noted in this 2013 post, Fredrik Lundholm compiles and updates a presentation called the Power Implementation Quality Standard for commercial workloads. This presentation has proven to be rather popular, so I want to let … Continue reading “New Version of Power Systems Best Practices Now Available”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Still proud to be a champion. Originally posted February 28, 2017 on AIXchange In case you missed me mentioning it on Twitter (@robmcnelly), I was recently selected as part of the 2017 class of IBM Power Champions. Along with 13 others, I was first honored as an IBM Power Champion … Continue reading “A Power Champion, Again”

Edit: This is still relevant today Originally posted February 21, 2017 on AIXchange What systems are you running? That’s an easy enough question to answer. You might tell me that you have two 880s, two 850s and two S822s, all running AIX 7.2. But what do your systems actually do? The answer to this question … Continue reading “Supporting Systems and the People Who Use Them”

Edit: These offerings are usually pretty popular Originally posted February 14, 2017 on AIXchange In my consulting work, I see a number of customers with small machines running critical workloads that don’t incorporate virtualization. Because these workloads aren’t necessarily memory- or CPU-intensive, these customers see no need to set up multiple LPARs. They just want … Continue reading “New Servers Designed for Smaller Environments”

Edit: Hopefully you are running dual VIOS Originally posted February 7, 2017 on AIXchange This was posted on Jan. 17, but it’s worth revisiting. I thought the article was a little over the top, starting with the headline: “Power Systems running IBM’s VIOS virtualisation need a patch and rebootUnless you’re willing to tolerate the chance … Continue reading “Article Misses the Point on VIOS Use”

Edit: This seems to be less of a problem lately Originally posted January 31, 2017 on AIXchange If you use an electronic calendar, chances are you’re dealing with multiple calendaring and email systems between your work and personal accounts. Some folks use Google Calendar, others use Outlook and still others use Lotus Notes for example. … Continue reading “Decoding iCalendar Files”

Edit: Still relevant today Originally posted January 24, 2017 on AIXchange During a recent conversation over lunch, my companion made a great observation: No one questions the need to upgrade their computers and other devices anymore — with one notable exception. Who do you know that is still using Windows XP, even on a home … Continue reading “Taking on the Upgrade Exception”

Edit: Still good stuff Originally posted January 17, 2017 on AIXchange I recently discovered this post to the UNIX & Linux Forums. While it’s from 2013, “The Most Incomplete Guide to Performance Tuning” has some great — and still relevant — ideas. For starters, this is from the section called “What Does Success Mean?” “The problem … Continue reading “Thoughts on Performance Tuning”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted January 10, 2017 on AIXchange Why do I consider PowerVM to be such a powerful virtualization technology? It has many advantages compared to competing virtualization technologies, including the capabilities it borrows from the mainframe. This IBM site has a detailed list of advantages, but I’ll highlight some particularly … Continue reading “The PowerVM Story Gets Better”

Edit: Interesting tool. Originally posted January 3, 2017 on AIXchange A recent Nigel Griffiths tweet highlighted this page: “This is a simple script that outputs the current machine or LPAR to give you the rPerf number. The rperf numbers are only available for certain number of CPUs. If you have a different number of CPUs then a rough … Continue reading “Estimate rperf for your LPAR”

Edit: Still good to know. Originally posted December 20, 2016 on AIXchange I recently had an AIX LPAR that wasn’t booting. In an effort to gather information, IBM Support had me boot it a few different ways. This document details what we needed to do. I’m copying it here because I want to make sure you’re aware … Continue reading “Booting AIX in Debug Mode”

Edit: Backup everything. Then test it. Originally posted December 13, 2016 on AIXchange A customer had an HMC issue. There were no backups, so the HMC had to reinstalled from scratch. There wasn’t any documentation either, meaning that the customer had no idea what the network settings should be. Stop reading for a moment and … Continue reading “Back Up Your HMC or Get Ready to Rebuild”

Edit: Still a good question. Originally posted December 6, 2016 on AIXchange I recently wrote about backups, though I didn’t get into the bare metal recovery options for Linux. I wrote about this topic in 2005, and here I am, 11 years later, still wondering where is my integrated bare metal recovery mechanism for Linux? The answer … Continue reading “Bare Metal Recovery Options for Linux”

Edit: Someone needs to update the IBM Jargon file. Originally posted November 29, 2016 on AIXchange I love clever definitions of technology-related terms. In the past I mentioned the IBM Jargon and General Computing Dictionary (which will be 30 years old soon). Here’s a similar list that — while it’s directed toward an academic audience — is more up-to-date. … Continue reading “Tech Terms Defined Redefined”

Edit: I still love AIX. Originally posted November 22, 2016 on AIXchange I use Linux, and have for many years. I run Linux on Power hardware, which is something any Linux enterprise user should consider. Still, I prefer to live in the world of AIX. I understand that Linux is a fixture now, but there are … Continue reading “Adjusting to a Linux World”

Edit: Still good stuff. Originally posted November 15, 2016 on AIXchange As I’ve mentioned, the AIX mailing list is a great place to go to pose questions and receive good answers from other AIX pros. While traffic is typically pretty light, I recently came across an interesting thread about the need to take care when editing critical files: … Continue reading “Another Case for Backups”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted November 8, 2016 on AIXchange This IBM developerWorks page offers helpful information about building virtual environments. While it hasn’t been updated in awhile, the content is certainly relevant. There are four sections, covering “pre-virtualization,” planning and design, implementation, and management and administration. The information that follows is excerpted … Continue reading “Building Virtual Environments”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted November 1, 2016 on AIXchange Did you see this AIX EXTRA article about PowerSC? “PowerSC 1.1.5 will bring us a new user interface that makes the security compliance aspect of the product significantly easier to manage. Many Power Systems clients need to adhere to different security compliance standards … Continue reading “My Hosted PowerSC Trial Session”

Edit: I still like to remember the good old days. Originally posted October 25, 2016 on AIXchange I’m a fan of history, especially technology-related history. So as I get older, I like to reminisce about “the good old days.” Like when I attended Desert Code Camp 2016 earlier this month. The event, held at Chandler-Gilbert Community College … Continue reading “AIX Keeps Making History”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted October 18, 2016 on AIXchange Last week IBM announced new hardware models, along with new features and functionality within AIX and IBM i. I believe IBM is once again showing a strong commitment to the Power brand, and, by providing the capability to update your operating system … Continue reading “Digging into Last Week’s IBM Announcements”

Edit: Still some good websites to visit. Originally posted October 11, 2016 on AIXchange It’s once again time to nominate IBM Champions. You can do so here. Seeing that notice reminded me of the IBM Champions event I attended in Austin, Texas, some months back. I’d known a lot of these folks for years, but I was … Continue reading “The Best Documentation is Well-Organized”

Edit: Did you know this tool exists? Some links no longer work. Originally posted October 4, 2016 on AIXchange I often hear from people who want to know how to conduct in-depth performance analysis on Linux. These folks are new to the platform and wonder why they can’t find many of the tools (PerfPMR, for … Continue reading “A Performance Analysis Tool for Linux”

Edit: Still good information. Originally posted September 27, 2016 on AIXchange I was recently asked how to remove a static route from the AIX Object Data Manager (ODM), so I pointed my customer to this techdoc. Although this information is pretty basic, many times when we revisit the basics we’re reminded of something we already knew. … Continue reading “Removing a Static Route from the ODM”

Edit: Still a good discussion. Originally posted September 20, 2016 on AIXchange Did you know about the AIX forums that are hosted at unix.com? It had been awhile since I checked them, but when I did recently, I found an open letter that was written to me a few weeks after I wrote about whether IBM should allow root access … Continue reading “More on the HMC and root”

Edit: Have you migrated yet? Some links no longer work. Originally posted September 13, 2016 on AIXchange Last month’s Hot Chips conference generated quite a bit of press about the soon to be available POWER9 processors: “Intel has the kind of control in the datacenter that only one vendor in the history of data processing has ever … Continue reading “POWER9 Media Coverage”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted September 6, 2016 on AIXchange This great new techdoc from Steve Knudson recently went live. It includes a set of slides that cover Ethernet on POWER, along with a cheat sheet that you may find valuable as you transition to 10G adapters on POWER8 servers: “Moving some older … Continue reading “10G Ethernet on POWER Tips”

Edit: If only ISVs would embrace LPM instead of punishing us for using it. Originally posted August 30, 2016 on AIXchange In February I wrote about disabling live partition mobility on selected partitions, and recently I received a related question from someone looking for an alternative to using the HMC GUI. Specifically, how do you turn … Continue reading “Using LPM from the Command Line”

Edit: Still good to know. Originally posted August 23, 2016 on AIXchange I recently was asked about AIX system accounts. You’ll find the answers — why they’re there, how you login to them, etc. — in this IBM Support doc. It’s an older document that covers the basics, but the information is still relevant: “Question: What … Continue reading “Using AIX System Accounts”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted August 16, 2016 on AIXchange I know more of you are evaluating and using Linux on Power, so I want to highlight some good resources. (Note: A ton of links follow, and I’ve noticed that some don’t seem to work properly with Internet Explorer, so try another … Continue reading “Linux on Power Resources”

Edit: Sametime has gone away, Slack is the new tool IBMers use at the time of this writing. Some links no longer work. Originally posted August 9, 2016 on AIXchange I worked for IBM from 2000-2006. During that time I used Sametime extensively to communicate with coworkers worldwide. When I left the company, I wanted … Continue reading “Connecting with IBMers on Sametime”

Edit: I still regularly speed up my videos. Some links no longer work. Originally posted August 2, 2016 on AIXchange By now you’re familiar with PowerVC. No? Well, then this post is for you: “IBM PowerVC Virtualization Center is an advanced virtualization and cloud management offering, built on OpenStack, that provides simplified virtualization management and cloud … Continue reading “PowerVC Resources”

Edit: I am still missing camp. Originally posted July 26, 2016 on AIXchange As long time readers know, I work with Boy Scouts. Recently we took 19 boys to a week-long summer camp, and while I always find being around kids to be instructive, this time I realized that some of these lessons apply to techies … Continue reading “Lessons Learned from Camp”

Edit: Some links no longer work. Originally posted July 19, 2016 on AIXchange The January 2016 AIX Virtual User Group meeting featured a presentation that you should check out. It’s from Steve Pittman (download the PDF; watch the video). One of the things Steve talks about is this web page. It contains links to tons of information covering a wide … Continue reading “Lots of Potential Bookmarks”

Edit: Still a good Redbook. Originally posted July 12, 2016 on AIXchange One of the challenges of configuring virtual disks with the VIO server is knowing which settings must be changed during setup. I recently had something brought to my attention that should help clarify things. It’s from the IBM Redbook, “PowerVM Virtualization Introduction and Configuration.” Go … Continue reading “A Pictorial Guide to vSCSI Disk Settings”

Edit: Why wouldn’t you run POWER? Originally posted July 5, 2016 on AIXchange I’m always interested in stories about customers that choose to migrate from x86 to POWER8 systems. When I hear about 2X performance compared to x86 when running workloads on POWER, I wonder how anyone could consider anything else. Throw in the AIX, IBM … Continue reading “Power Systems from a Competitor’s View”

Edit: Still a valuable technique. Originally posted June 28, 2016 on AIXchange Awhile ago Russell Adams posted an interesting message to the AIX mailing list. He wrote about working with AIX snap files and included a link to his website, which provides some background: “I frequently work with customer systems where I need a systems inventory. This … Continue reading “Working with Snap Files”

Edit: I did get that USB monitor. And I added a few more to my desktop for good measure. Originally posted June 21, 2016 on AIXchange Over the years I’ve discovered that you can never have too many monitors connected to your system. I’m reminded of this whenever I go on the road with a … Continue reading “Monitor-ing the Situation”

Edit: How often do you use these packages? Some links no longer work. Originally posted June 14, 2016 on AIXchange Are you familiar with the AIX Expansion Pack? “The AIX Expansion Pack is a collection of extra software that extends the base operating system capabilities. The AIX Web Download Pack is a collection of additional applications … Continue reading “The AIX Expansion Pack”

Edit: I want my enterprise class server. Originally posted June 7, 2016 on AIXchange You likely know that we can run multiple operating systems on Power servers. With powerful POWER8 servers, we can consolidate workloads such as AIX, IBM i, and Linux and run them simultaneously on the same server — assuming it’s not one … Continue reading “Don’t Forget About Server Consolidation”

Edit: I still love getting scripts from readers Originally posted May 31, 2016 on AIXchange In January I posted some scripts I’d received from Simon Taylor. He’s since provided me with more: “Hi Rob,Annual upgrades are happening again. We have the common problems with getting downtime, etc., and I wasn’t over keen on the published methods of … Continue reading “Upgrading SDDPCM Drivers”

Edit: I am still more active than I once was, and I have kept the weight off. Originally posted May 24, 2016 on AIXchange This blog typically covers AIX and other technical topics. However, every now and again I write about something else that interests me. This week’s topic, honestly, is sensitive. You’re overweight. Or, … Continue reading “Finding the Motivation to Change”

Edit: These charts project far into the future. Originally posted May 17, 2016 on AIXchange When is my version of AIX or PowerHA going out of support? These types of questions come up all the time. The good news is there are multiple ways to find quick answers to them. IBM has a support lifecycle webpage that … Continue reading “Finding Lifecycle and Other Product Info”

Edit: Still the only way to go. Many of these links no longer work. Originally posted May 10, 2016 on AIXchange If you have IBM maintenance and support contracts on your IBM hardware and software, it’s a straight-forward arrangement. When something breaks, you can open a PMR and get help. But did you know that … Continue reading “Enhanced Support Options”

Edit: This was terrifying. Glad I avoided a watch list. Originally posted May 3, 2016 on AIXchange If you travel for your job as I do, you probably lug lots of gear. Chargers, cords and adapters are just some of the necessities that keep your gadgets in working order while you’re on the go. If … Continue reading “What’s in Your Bag?”

Edit: Check your firmware! Originally posted April 26, 2016 on AIXchange Here’s something of interest to those who use live partition mobility (LPM): IBM has created a matrix that shows firmware compatibility for conducting LPM operations between systems: “Ensure that the firmware levels on the source and destination servers are compatible before upgrading. In [Table 1], … Continue reading “LPM and Firmware Compatibility”

Edit: I still want root. Originally posted April 19, 2016 on AIXchange For as long as there’s been an HMC, there have been frustrated administrators wishing they had root access to it. The argument for root does contain a certain logic. The HMC runs Linux under the covers, so shouldn’t we, as UNIX admins, have … Continue reading “Why Don’t We Have Root on the HMC?”